This page will contain links to useful websites that will help you to learn how to summarise and paraphrase articles that you read. If you find some good websites you can put them here!
Paraphrasing and summarising
In contrast to quoting directly, by summarising or paraphrasing an author's ideas you are able to present your interpretation of an author's ideas and to integrate them more fully into the structure of your writing.
Paraphrasing is generally used when you wish to refer to sentences or phrases in the source text. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with facts and definitions. Paraphrasing involves rewriting a short section from the source text in different words whilst keeping the same meaning.
Summarising is generally used when you wish to refer to ideas contained in a long text. Summarising enables you to reduce the author's ideas to key points in an outline of the discussion or argument by omitting unnecessary details and examples.
Whether you summarise or paraphrase, you will still need to include a reference citing the source of the ideas you have referred to.
A process for paraphrasing and summarising
Many students find the following process useful for summarising and paraphrasing information.
Read the text carefully - you may need to read the text several times, and check the meaning of terms you do not understand in a dictionary.
Identify and underline the key words and main ideas in the text, and write these ideas down.
Consider these points as a whole and your purpose for using this information in relation to the structure of your assignment. You may be able to group the ideas under your own
headings, and arrange them in a different sequence to the original text.
Think about the attitude of the author, i.e. critical, supportive, certain, uncertain. Think about appropriate reporting verbs you could use to describe this attitude.
Think of words or phrases which mean roughly the same as those in the original text. Remember, if the key words are specialised vocabulary for the subject, they do not need to be changed. (see Using synonyms below.)
Using your notes from the above steps, draft your summary or paraphrase.
When you have finished your draft reread the original text and compare it to your paraphrase or summary.
Sample summary from the listening activity about Chin Ling:
Chin Ling discusses the problems she faced in her first year at university and offers advice about how to overcome these problems. She begins with academic challenges, pointing out that at university, students are treated as adults who are expected to be responsible for their own learning. To tackle this challenge, Chin Ling stresses the importance of being organised. To that end, Chin Ling recommends writing deadlines in a diary or calendar, organising notes every day and forming a study group. The second major problem Chin Ling identifies is a social one, in particular the lonliness that new university students can experience. Chin Ling's advice on this is to join university clubs or societies, and again, she points out the value of a study group. (125 words)
Summarising and paraphrasing
This page will contain links to useful websites that will help you to learn how to summarise and paraphrase articles that you read. If you find some good websites you can put them here!
Paraphrasing and summarisingIn contrast to quoting directly, by summarising or paraphrasing an author's ideas you are able to present your interpretation of an author's ideas and to integrate them more fully into the structure of your writing.
Paraphrasing is generally used when you wish to refer to sentences or phrases in the source text. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with facts and definitions. Paraphrasing involves rewriting a short section from the source text in different words whilst keeping the same meaning.
Summarising is generally used when you wish to refer to ideas contained in a long text. Summarising enables you to reduce the author's ideas to key points in an outline of the discussion or argument by omitting unnecessary details and examples.
Whether you summarise or paraphrase, you will still need to include a reference citing the source of the ideas you have referred to.
A process for paraphrasing and summarising
Many students find the following process useful for summarising and paraphrasing information.
headings, and arrange them in a different sequence to the original text.
Sample summary from the listening activity about Chin Ling:
Chin Ling discusses the problems she faced in her first year at university and offers advice about how to overcome these problems. She begins with academic challenges, pointing out that at university, students are treated as adults who are expected to be responsible for their own learning. To tackle this challenge, Chin Ling stresses the importance of being organised. To that end, Chin Ling recommends writing deadlines in a diary or calendar, organising notes every day and forming a study group. The second major problem Chin Ling identifies is a social one, in particular the lonliness that new university students can experience. Chin Ling's advice on this is to join university clubs or societies, and again, she points out the value of a study group. (125 words)